Thocomerius

Thocomerius,[1][2] also Tihomir,[3][4] was the father of Basarab who would become the first independent voivode of Wallachia.[1] Many Romanian historians (e.g., Vlad Georgescu, Marcel Popa) think that Thocomerius was a voivode in Wallachia who followed Bărbat (a voivode around 1278);[3][4] others (e.g., Tudor Sălăgean) refer to him as a local potentate whose status cannot be specified.[1]

The name of Basarab’s father is only known from a diploma issued by King Charles I of Hungary on 26 November 1332.[2] The diploma refers to ‘the schismatic Basarab, son of Thocomerius.’[2]

The Hungarian László Rásonyi derives the name from a Cuman and Tatar name, Toq-tämir (‘hardened steel’),[5] and refers to a Chingisid prince, Toktomer, mentioned in the Russian annals in 1295 as abiding in the Crimea.[2] According to István Vásáry, even if Basarab’s father bore a Turkic name, his person can by no means identified with a Chingisid prince, because being descended from Genghis Khan was a matter of such significance that no one could, or would have wanted to conceal it.[2]